On Sunday, October 13, regional coordinator of CAY4Water, students of Kazakh-German University and members of the network went to the Turgen Gorge in the territory of Ili-Alatau National Park to take part in the Eco-picnic.

Turgen gorge is located 90 km away from Almaty. Turgen gorge is famous for its waterfalls, pine forests, hot springs and lakes with clear water. It is a popular tourist destination among residents of Almaty.

With the help of the Ile-Alatau National park and escorted by the huntsman we easily reached the foothills of the ‘Ayuly’ (Bear) waterfall, enjoyed the picturesque views of Almaty mountains and had a great time.

Despite getting extremely tired on the way everyone reached the ‘Qairaq’ waterfall, walking 20 thousand meters through cold and hot; asking gazillion questions on seismicity of the region, the origins of the boulders on the road, analyzing the measures of mudflow protection and building their own hypotheses on the matter.

The most remarkable fact about the trip is its purpose – collection of garbage in the Turgen gorge, as well as a bonus lecture on the rational management of water resources from the visiting Professor of the Kazakh-German University, Dr. rer. nat. A. Mitusov.

 

That same day CAY4W members in Dushanbe, Tajikistan held the same purpose event in the basin of ‘Dushanbinka’ river.